I Went Searching For an Indian and Found I Was a Dutchman

I Went Searching for an Indian and Found I Was a Dutchman.

I've always been interested in history so when my Uncle Wayne gave me some information about our family roots I had to begin changing the way I've always thought about where I came from. We had always been told, "there's Indian blood in our ancestry, we just haven't been able to prove it". I have been surprised to learn that while searching for an Indian link, I found a Dutchman. Now I'm not saying there may not be some Indian blood somewhere but the prospect looks dimmer the more I find out.

I also have had some general prejudices about folks back east, especially areas like Ohio (I grew up in the Woody Hayes era and couldn't stand Ohio State). What a surprise (and God ordained I believe) to find we arrived in Ohio in the early 1800s, my ancestor fought in an Ohio Regiment in the Civil War, and came to Kansas afterwards. That, and some visits to Ohio, has adjusted my thinking.

And the other reason why-to keep communication between the far flung members of my family and encourage them to drop a note so we can keep in touch with the details of their lives. We miss too much by not being there in the day to day workings of life. So, leave a post for all of us.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

There's more to that story (continued from post below)

The
Daily Mirror (Los Angeles)

8 motherless children

Dec. 20,
1957
Long Beach

Faustino Abella, 31, was
hurrying back to his ship,the Navasota, a tanker at the Long Beach Navy base,
when it happened in the morning darkness, about 5:30 a.m.

His wife, Jennie May, 30,
was driving the car when it stalled on the approach to the Ocean Street Bridge
overthe Los Angeles River. A woman in another car
offered to give them a push. But when the Abellas' car started, the gas pedal
apparently jammed. The car roared up the bridge, jumped the curb, tore out 37
feet of railing, hit a concrete abutment and plunged 20 feet into the water,
landing upside-down.

As Navy divers worked to
recover the bodies from the overturned car at the bottom of the river, four
children were waiting for their mother's return: Faustino Abella Jr., who was
18 months old, and three girls from her previous marriage, Gloria Jean, 12;
Mary, 10; and Susan, 9. The home at2100 W. Willard St., in Long Beach, was
sparsely decorated for the holidays with a small Christmas tree in a corner and
a single package.

Several hours later, Long
Beach police officers told the children their parents were dead and took them
to Juvenile Hall because there was no one to care for them. "With
anguished tears, the girls gathered up a few belongings, their little brother
clutched a toy truck in both arms and they went along," The Times said.

Mrs. Sam Novak, a
great-aunt living in San Diego, took custody of four children, saying:
"I'd have gone to them if I'd have had to crawl."

The next day, Jennie's
parents, Samuel and Minnie Icke, arrived after an all-night drive from St. Louis,
where they were raising four more of her children: Claude Capps, 15; Charles,
13; Susan's twin brother Bobby; and Sammy, 8.

Samuel began disposing of
the few pieces of furniture in the home and settling Jennie's affairs before
taking the children back to St. Louis. Faustino's funeral was held in the
Philippines, where he was born, while Jennie's was held in St. Louis.

The Lafayette Hotel hosted
the family for Christmas dinner and gave them a check, but beyond that, we
don't know what became of the children. We can only hope for the best.